Chapter 524 Two Gossipy Old Ladies
Liao, in particular, often complained to her neighbors about Qiao Qinghe's heartlessness and ingratitude.
At first, Granny Fang would step in to scold and stop them.
But as time went on, Granny Fang chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, letting Madam Liao complain.
Yang Zhong could only sigh and shake his head when he saw this.
Yang An would at least offer a few words of admonishment, but after he finished scolding her today, Liao would continue to lecture her the next day. Yang An was helpless.
The autumn imperial examinations were just around the corner, and Yang Hongyuan had been rarely home due to his studies. He spent his days either at the academy or at the Gu family home, consulting with the scholar Gu. Therefore, Yang Hongyuan genuinely didn't notice the changes in his family's mood, nor did he offer any timely advice or reassurance.
Over time, the Yang family's resentment towards Qiao Qinghe deepened to the point that if Chen San casually sent a beggar to wander around the alley where the Yang family lived, he could hear people gossiping about Qiao Qinghe.
Upon learning of the Yang family's actions, A-Shuang naturally wouldn't hide it from Qiao Qinghe and immediately spoke out with righteous indignation.
After hearing this, Qiao Qinghe remained silent for a long time.
From then on, she never mentioned the Yang family again, and forbade anyone to mention the Yang family in front of her.
From that moment on, she tacitly agreed to completely exclude the Yang family from her protection.
He did nothing to the Yang family, but only out of consideration for the debt of gratitude that Granny Fang had owed him in his previous life, he granted the Yang family one last act of forgiveness.
Seeing that Qiao Qinghe didn't speak, Madam Bai wanted to say something, but was stopped by Madam Zheng shaking her head.
Although Bai was unaware of the situation, she was obedient. When Madam Zheng told her not to speak, she obediently kept quiet and didn't say anything more.
To ease the tension, Madam Zheng chatted with Qiao Qinghe about some lighthearted topics.
She also mentioned that when she went to the Huajiaolou before the Lunar New Year, Manager Wu asked her why Qiao Qinghe hadn't gone to the Huajiaolou to listen to the opera.
Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but roll her eyes. The Huajiaolou was a money-devouring beast. It made so much money from her by selling her information that time, but it refused to waive several hundred taels of her opera fee.
The two then complained about how the corner tower was so greedy.
Before they knew it, the carriage had arrived at Princess Huaiyang's residence.
Upon getting off the carriage and seeing the spacious and grand courtyard in front of Princess Huaiyang's residence, Qiao Qinghe couldn't help but gasp.
In this capital city where land is incredibly valuable, even this vacant lot in front of Princess Huaiyang's residence could be used to build a two-courtyard house.
Seeing Qiao Qinghe's surprise, the well-informed Madam Zheng smiled and explained in a low voice, "This house used to be the residence of the old Prince Wu. Years ago, he committed a crime and his family was confiscated by the Emperor. The Prince Wu's mansion has been left empty ever since."
"Prince Wu was one of the late emperor's favorite princes in his early years. The mansion he was granted was already quite large, and Prince Wu later expanded it considerably on his own. Tsk tsk..."
At this point, Madam Zheng lowered her voice and said, "When the King of Wu's property was later confiscated, one of the charges listed was that he had exceeded the prescribed limits."
Qiao Qinghe covered her mouth, which was agape in shock, and asked with concern, "Even a prince living in the Wu Prince's mansion is considered to be overstepping the bounds. So, is it really inappropriate to let Princess Huaiyang live there now?"
Li Sanqi is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, so he can stay as he pleases. However, if a new Emperor ascends the throne in the future and uses this matter against him, the current favor may turn into trouble.
Madam Zheng waved her hand with a smile, "Don't worry, Her Majesty the Empress and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have thought of everything you can think of for Princess Huaiyang."
"Therefore, when the King of Chu proposed to change the Wu King's residence into the Huaiyang Princess's residence before the New Year, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager pleaded on his behalf and asked for an imperial decree on behalf of the Huaiyang Princess."
"With the imperial edict in hand, even if a new emperor ascends the throne in the future, the princess will not be able to say anything."
Qiao Qinghe nodded; she had indeed been worrying unnecessarily.
Li Sanqi has changed since Xixi returned.
She used to do things her own way, based entirely on her own preferences.
But now, almost everything she does is driven by profit.
Therefore, she could suppress her murderous intent towards Min Pan'er, just to use that as leverage to make any demands of the Prince of Chu. She could also exploit the Empress Dowager and the Empress's guilt and favor to the fullest extent.
It's likely that these people played a significant role in Li Sanqi's transformation of the oversized Prince Wu's mansion into her Princess Huaiyang residence.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the gate of the mansion.
Both Qiao Qinghe and Madam Zheng were startled when they saw the person in charge of receiving the guests.
Before the host could come to greet them, the two, along with Bai Shi, Qiao Yuanyao, and Qiao Ning, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Sixth Princess."
Li Jingyue quickly smiled and told everyone to dispense with formalities, "Today I am not the Sixth Princess, I am just a guest of honor invited by Huaiyang. Please come inside, ladies."
As he spoke, he called a maid to lead the way for them.
Seeing that Li Jingyue didn't intend to say anything more to them, the two smiled and nodded, then followed the maid inside.
After entering the door and turning the corner, and no longer seeing Li Jingyue, Madam Zheng whispered to Qiao Qinghe, "Speaking of which, the Sixth Princess has been acting rather strangely lately."
Qiao Qinghe smiled and guessed, "Could it be because the Sixth Princess suddenly took the initiative to show affection to Princess Huaiyang?"
Madam Zheng looked at Qiao Qinghe with surprise, "You know that?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled faintly and remained silent.
Madam Zheng continued, "Everyone has seen how much the Sixth Princess and Princess Huaiyang used to dislike each other. Around the New Year, the Sixth Princess suddenly lowered her stance and took the initiative to befriend Princess Huaiyang."
"The key is that Princess Huaiyang ignores her, yet she still goes to Princess Huaiyang's palace every day."
"I heard that Consort Xian gave the Sixth Princess a severe scolding for this matter, but the Sixth Princess still tries to curry favor with Princess Huaiyang every day."
"Oh, ptooey, ptooey, look at how I said that... it's so vulgar. But that's the gist of it."
"Don't you think this is strange?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled. Li Jingyue was planning her own future.
Even the worst crime Zhao Xianfei could commit was deceiving the emperor. As Zhao Xianfei's daughter, it's not surprising that Li Jingyue would shamelessly try to get close to Li Sanqi, who was favored by the emperor, the empress dowager, the empress, Emperor Xiaozhao, Prince Chu, and everyone else.
"Do you know something?" Madam Zheng keenly noticed that Qiao Qinghe's attitude was different, and frowned as she turned her head to look at her.
"Speaking of which, it seems that the Sixth Princess's change began after she attended the banquet at the Jiang residence before the New Year."
“I remember you went to that banquet too.”
"It seems something else happened at the banquet; the eldest daughter of the Jiang family died the next day."
"Tell me what exactly happened."
"What have you done now? What role did the Sixth Princess play in all of this?"
The more Madam Zheng spoke, the more curious she became; it was clear she wanted to hear some gossip.
To be honest, given people's love of gossip, Qiao Qinghe found it strange that what happened that day hadn't spread widely.
Later, after some investigation, it was discovered that it was actually the Chu Prince's Mansion that had intervened.
It's obvious that the King of Chu did this to protect Min Pan'er.
However, Qiao Qinghe didn't care.
So, he lowered his voice and briefly explained the situation.
Of course, many details were concealed during this period. It was only said that Min Pan'er, the second young lady whom the Jiang family had taken back, wanted to murder a lady of high status who was attending the banquet, but the plot was exposed and she was caught red-handed.
Because the second young lady who was adopted was brought home by the eldest young lady of the Jiang family, in order to appease the lady's anger and to protect the Jiang family, the eldest young lady of the Jiang family sent the second young lady back to the mansion during the day and committed suicide at night.
"The lady who could frighten Miss Jiang into committing suicide to atone for her sins must be someone of extraordinary status, right?" Madam Zheng muttered subconsciously, then looked at Qiao Qinghe with a complicated expression.
Hmm, it's probably related to this person.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com